Switching Bodies
by yuni30
Summary: Switch... Awkward, but a switch. What happens when two of our beloved TP characters find themselves in a strange situation? One shot. Long One shot, but a one shot... R&R!


**Hey****all!****You****know****me,****Yuni.****Okay,****here's****a****crazy****story****about****Jim****and****Silver.****(I'm****sorry,****but****I****like****Silver.****He's****just****one****of****those****types****that****has****so****much****mystery.****How****can****I**_**not**___**write****about****him,****eh?)****They****get****all****mixed****up****in****a****strange****situation.****Read****to****find****out!****(By****the****way...****I****edited****this****thing...****I****kind****of****found****it****confusing****grammar****wise****so,****as****a****kind****gift****to****my****loving****readers...****Here's****the****now****edited****and****better****put****version!****:D****By****the****way...****I****don't****own****Jim****or****Silver****or****anything****else****in****context****to****the****original****TP****or****TI.****Do****own****Magic,****Steel,****and****Lousianne.****Oh****and****the****purple****lightning****is****mine****too...****Although****it****is****a****very****mean****lighting...****-wishes****that****I****could****kill****it-)**

**S.s.S**

**Switching Bodies**

All was quiet in the Etherium near the mining planet Montressor. All except a lone boat, commandeered by a certain cyborg. He commandeered it alone, for it was a small and livable housing ship sailing idly with all the comforts of home, only that it wasn't his really. He didn't have a crew with him, for he didn't want to run into even more trouble, and preferred to go it alone.

He hung around that planet sometimes, only to take a bit of time off from his many wanderings, only to check in on a certain cabin boy. Technically, he wasn't a cabin boy anymore. He was grown man, a captain. The scalawag never spoke to the good captain really, for he was wanted by the law. Though he found that there was an underground connectivity through pubs and taverns he could send letters through.

Just as he was coming into dock, a storm hit. As he manned the controls diligently, the lighting flew right into the boat, electrocuting him. Now they say that this lightning wasn't any normal lightning. Montressor had been experiencing odd weather conditions, especially this weird purple tinted lightning that appeared during thunderstorms. No one knew of what it did, let alone if it was dangerous. The lightning was forked as it struck the boat. It forked into the Inn adjacent to the docks.

Now, there was a captain that lived in this inn. He was busy, earning some money on the side while he was on leave. He was cleaning plates and cooking all the while. Lightning ran in on him as he touched the metal nob on the stove. He collapsed on the ground before he even had a chance to cook.

Jim woke up, feeling a bit dizzy. His right hand flew to his head as he tried to massage away the pain. To his displeasure, his hand felt cold and metallic. He lowered his right hand and in shock he realized it wasn't "his" right hand, it was Silver's. "Holy-!" He looked in the metal shield of the mechanical arm that housed the many gadgets inside. He didn't see his face, he saw his mentor. He shook his head, hoping that it was just a dream. He hadn't yet realized that he was only seeing out of his left eye. He opened the other and found several scans, calculations and numbers clarifying into a complete picture.

He cleared "his" throat. He began to test "his" voice. It sounded like Silver's, no matter how he tried to throw the accent and the tone of it. He grumbled and slowly got up from his place on the ground, stumbling a bit due to the fact that he hadn't quite gotten use to the mechanical stability of the robotic half Silver had. He grumbled, wondering what was all going on in his own body. Hopefully, Silver himself wasn't doing anything harmful.

The ship was a small ship, and he hated the fact that it was so. He even began to wonder as to how Silver had managed living in it due to its size. Then he looked out the windows and knew how he had survived the cramped space. Spacing was Silver's life. It was his bread and butter, his dreams, even had spacing in his blood, that old scalawag. But Jim wasn't Silver. Actually, he _was_in Silver's body, but he wasn't the same person that Silver was.

He knew in the blink of an eye, Silver would turn, once he found something to turn on you for. He bit his tongue. _Damn!__Silver,__why__did__I__have__to__be__put__in_your _body?__Of__all__people's,_yours_?_

Silver awoke with a mild headache. His left arm- in which he got use to using more frequently than his right- flew to his head. He groaned a little as he tried to massage the ache away. He noticed his voice seemed a bit off key. A little too young for a spacer his age.

He noticed as he opened "his" eyes, that they had normal vision, both right and left. He looked down at his hands. They were pale and human, both of them. He ran out of the room in a panic. Little did he realize he was being followed. He froze, feeling the eyes of a little creature stare at the back of his neck. He spun around only to see his former pet, staring at him.

He grinned. "Morphy! How have yeh been yeh lil' blob of mischief," he greeted, his voice still carrying that odd tone. Morph looked at him as if he had spoken in an alien language. Then the little blob squealed in delight and turned into "him". The little blob turned back and laughed heartily. "Morph, don'cha remember me?" Morph gave a confused look. He motioned toward "himself". "It's me! John Silver. Yer dad," he pleaded. Morph turned into a much older Jim. Then he turned into a pointing finger directed at Silver, as if riminding him he was really Jim.

Silver went wide eyed. _I'm__in__Jimbo's__body?Tha'__explains__the__regular__arm,__leg,__an'__eye_... He paused and placed his right hand over his ear. _Not__to__mention__me__right__ear.__Guess__I__gotta__start__playin'__Jim's__role._ He shrugged. "Never mind Morph. Nostalgia I guess..." He rubbed the back of "his" neck and began to walk away. "I'm going to get some air, Morph. Be back in a bit," he commented breezily.

He feigned a bit of confusion as if it were nothing when he tried to find the back door to the building. He knew if Morph didn't believe him, then he knew no one else would... no one else but... He had a sly grin on his face as he went out the door.

He looked out the window, after putting on "his" coat and hat. He scowled as he noticed himself- or Silver- walking down the way, smiling for a reason he may have not wanted to know. He growled a bit and walked outside and made a hasty decision to intercept the impostor.

He made a run for it. He looked squarely in eyes of the man. "Hey, Silver, I think it's about time you got out of my body." Silver smirked. "No can do, Jimbo. I'm afraid we're both stuck like this until deh next lightnin' storm," he replied, trying his best not to speak in his usual slang. Jim rolled "his" eyes. "Yeah, but _you're_wanted." Silver nodded, suddenly glum. "I know... and if any of us get killed..."

Jim frowned, thinking. "Silver," he asked, "his" voice a bit gruff. "It's a long shot, but I think I know someone who can help us." He motioned Silver to follow. "Come with me." Silver nodded, but then he paused and looked down at his apparel. "Eh... Jimbo? I'm not exactly dressed fer travel, let alone walkin' out here." Jim huffed and waved with the mechanical arm. "Top drawer to the left. You'll find a casual shirt and pants combo." Silver nodded at Jim's directions. He _was_in Jim's body after all, and it only seemed fitting that he'd wear the appropriate outfit.

Jim waited back at the boat he found himself in. Silver ran up, in Jim's body of course, ranting about something. "Jim! Jim," he yelled frantically. "We got a problem!"Jim raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What kind of problem, Silver," he queried. He looked to the window on the door and spotted a very smug look on his former face. "What," he asked. "When yeh let me in, I'll tell yeh what the problem is," he growled out.

Jim unlocked the door and opened it. "Alright... what's so important that you have to run yelling up the dock, nearly blowing me cover-" he caught himself using Silver's form of slang. "Blowing _my_cover," he corrected. "So what is it that you need to tell me?" Silver sighed. "You have an emergency meetin' wit' Cap'n Amelia. I can' go in t'ere, cause the minute she hears me talkin' like a lowly sailor, yer record will be down in Davy Jone's storage port!" He could tell he was frazzled because he was using the very thing he meant when he said "talking like a lowly sailor".

He also seemed to be hyperventilating as well- maybe all that running and shouting caused his breathing to heighten. Silver seemed to be clenching, "his" teeth, a sure sign he was stressed. Jim placed his left hand on his former shoulders. "Hey, Silver, take it easy. You speak right when you're calm, but when you're nervous you start to use that bloody form of improper speaking. Just try to focus on something else if you find yourself getting nervous."

His friend became less frantic. He sighed. "So I'm gatherin' I hafta act like you until the meetings over," he asked, getting his language more under control. Jim nodded. Silver grinned. "Shouldn't be that hard then."

Jim rubbed "his" chin in thought. "I hope it doesn't take long, Silver. It would put us off track." Silver bit "his" tongue in exasperation. "I know... well then, better get goin'!" Just as Silver turned to leave, Jim warned, "Be careful. Oh and tap on the window four times so I know it's you."

"Mr. Hawkins, I am aware you are on leave, but I've heard that you experienced a bit of a casualty, regarding the purple lightning." Silver nodded, still in Jim's body. "Yes, Captain. I was cooking in my mother's inn, earning an extra dollar or two when the lightning ran in on me." Amelia nodded and looked at her guest. She inquired, "I've reason to believe that this hasn't happened before in this area, James." Silver raised an eyebrow. "Really, ma'am? What happened?"

She walked over to one of her many textbook and historical files case she owned and opened the one labeled "Strange Phenomenons of Montressor". She turned the page of the book until she stopped. "Ah, here it is. 'Every thousand years, a series of flux lightning storms happen around Montressor. These storms can cause forked purple lightning. Usually this results in nothing, but when two lifeforms are zapped simultaneously... they are in each others body. I have experienced this and have come up with an invention to cure it.' Doctor Steel."

She sighed, and looked to Silver. "We were monitoring a ship next to the inn that night. Rumor has it, that a pirate attacked it and took it over. It was struck at the very same time as the inn." She cast a wary glance at Silver, unknown that the man she vowed to see hang one day was sitting in the chair across from her desk. She walked up to him and looked him dead in the eyes. "Are you really James Hawkins?" Silver was hesitant. "Eh... er... yes, ma'am." She quirked an eyebrow prodded, "Who are you really?"

She walked to the window and peered out. "I'll tell you, Captain, if you promise not to have me hung," the hidden pirate bargained. She looked over to Silver. "After all you've done in the past...?" Silver shook his head. "I didn't expect you to want to let me go free." She inwardly sighed. "Fine then... you won't be hung. Proceed." Silver told her who he really was, and all that had happened thus far. She frowned. "I see... well, Silver, time to go see Dr. Steel." She walked out of the room.

Silver began to shudder as Amelia left. _Doctor__Steel...?_ He remembered _that_name. It was sad enough that his right leg, arm, ear, and eye was burned off in an explosion, but to not give the patient enough drugs to ebb away the pain that came with the surgery... That was what Dr. Steel was like. The man was insane and many people claimed he preformed whack job experiments on his patients. Sometimes Silver thought he was a participant in one of them.

Amelia came back to the room, just as Silver began to believe he misheard the honorable Captain... but was there a possibility he misheard her _twice_? "So, er... what did the good doctor say," he asked, trying his best to keep his cool. She smiled. "Well, as it seems, he'll begin preparing his 'infernal machine' immediately. You and the real Mr. Hawkins will meet at this address," she said as she grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down something and handed it to him.

He took it, and thus his anxiety began to come back, for there, in a neat scrawl was the name of Doctor Francis J. Steel. He got up quickly, his fear apparent on his face. "I'm sorry, Captain, I've got to go!" Amelia looked out of the corner of her eye and motioned for Silver to sit. "Easy, Mr. Silver, easy... I see from your sudden anxiousness to leave, you have a bad history with this person. But believe me, he only means to help-" Silver couldn't contain it anymore, he just couldn't. "Oh yeah? Cap'n, I don't mean ta be rude or nutin', but 'ave yeh ever had a surgery done by deh man? He didn' even numb the pain properly! I says tha' this particular person, he's out of his bloomin' mind!"

Amelia sighed, "Silver, you're just going to have to trust me on this one." Silver remained scowling. "I trust you, but it's tha' bloke, Steel, tha' I don' trust." He got up. "Now, Cap'n, I best be goin' now." he marched out the door and slammed it behind him. Amelia winced. "Silver was always a trouble maker," she said in a low tone.

Jim sat there, practicing on how to scan things with the mechanical eye. After a half hour of that, he got bored. He switched on the radio on the ship, making sure it was on the stations that he could only listen to and not speak into. He found one, to his surprise, that he liked. Just as Jim began tapping the mechanical leg on the ground to I'm Still Here by his favorite band, Silver walked up the deck and tapped on the window four times as to say it was safe for Jim to open the door.

Jim unlocked it and let him in. "Well, what did Amelia want?" He looked over to Jim in a worried way. "Captain Amelia asked ta see you for the very reason we're meetin' up like this, Jim." Jim smirked. "Doesn't surprise me. She probably heard of how you commandeered this very ship, so she had people watching it." Silver nodded, the brown hair that really belonged to Jim, bouncing up and down.

He looked to the radio and approached it. "Wha' the devil is tha' racket," he asked, looking back at Jim, who smirked. "I just thought I'd play some music! I got bored after practicing how to use these infernal contraptions you call limbs." Silver sneered. "Yes, but why you had to put on _that_, I don' understand!" Jim just shrugged, and then he remembered something dire. "Did she figure it out?" Silver, who was a bit distracted, looked abruptly to Jim. "Eh? Wha'? Oh, er... I told her after she promised not to have me hung." Jim nodded. He knew Captain Amelia kept her word well.

Silver took out a piece of paper from one of "his" pockets and gave it to Jim. "We 'ave to see t'is man." He shuddered. Jim took the paper and after reading who they were to see, he had a shocked look. "Oh no... Not the notorious Doctor Steel!" Silver nodded. "Aye... I was frettin' o'er t'at very name when she told me."

Jim scoffed and slammed the dash with the robotic hand. "Blast! Of all incidents, why did it have to be one like this," he questioned. Silver nearly jumped at the loud bang of metal on metal. "Jim, lad, I don' think damaging me arm is gonna do us any good." Jim sighed, moving the mechanical fist from the newly placed dent on the ship's dash. "You're right. And damaging the ship isn't going to help either." They both sighed.

There was something Jim had to admit to the pirate, whom he was fortunate hadn't given into his addiction to smoking yet. The last thing he wanted was to taste tobacco in his mouth when he awoke. "Er... I actually had thought about that doctor Amelia told you about." Silver cast a shocked look. "T'en why in deh name of Heaven an' space didn' yeh tell me," he demanded. Jim threw "his" hands in the air. "Heck if I knew where Steel was! I would've gone through all the trouble of tracking him down on this ship's navigational systems if not for Amelia calling _me_to a meeting!"

Silver looked down. "Yeh got a poin' t'ere." He shrugged. "Well, are we gonna sail on over ta deh good doctor's place, or are we not?" Jim huffed again. "Of course, just let me key in the coordinates." Silver did a mock salute. "Aye, aye Cap'n Hawkins!" He started up the ship's engines as soon as the anchor was hoisted, the ship was untied, and the sails were unfurled.

The place was dreary and dark. The house wasn't a big one like the one's you'd see in a horror film, or one regarding ghouls and other evil creatures coming to life via lightning. It was dreary though, and looked ill cared for. Silver and Jim both looked at each other, frightened as to what may come if all failed. Would they end up only having half of each other's minds in their bodies? Would both of their thoughts and dreams be squished into one of the other's body, doomed to stay there? Would they remain like that forever, Silver only getting benefit of it because of the fact Jim was still fairly young and wasn't a wanted man, while Jim was getting the short end... a life of hiding and fleeing? The fear of dying before his mom could find out that he was really dead plagued Jim if he was still trapped in his father figure's body.

They flew into the nearest and probably only stable port by the house. Jim walked first, aware that the mechanized eye of Silver- in which he could now control- was glowing a yellow orange in apprehension. Silver followed close behind, having also gotten a laser pistol from the storage closet if he needed it tucked neatly in "his" belt.

Jim rapped on the door with the metallic knuckles of the robotic hand. It was one of the few things of this house that seemed to be stable. A lady wearing a maid's apron opened the door. She looked Jim over, her face growing grim. She wailed out all of a sudden in

an incomprehensible manner. A male voice was heard somewhere in the house. "Oivay, Lousianne! What is it now?" A man that stood over her by a couple of inches walked up.

"Pardon Lousianne, she has a strong mental disorder that causes her to break down in fits when she sees someone she doesn't know. She also isn't too able at speaking good English. She does however, listen to what people say." He cleared his throat. "So... you must be John Silver and James Hawkins." he corrected himself upon looking at their faces in order of their supposed names, "Oh, excuse me... James Hawkins and John Silver, I do believe is the correct order." He paused for a moment then motioned them to enter. "Don't just stand there! Come in!"

To both Jim and Silver's surprise, the house was more welcoming on the inside than out. It had a warm glow from the small candles that lined the walls. It was a roomy, comfortable place. "Have a seat in the study and I'll meet with you up there," Steel directed. He turned to Lousianne. "Lousianne, will you fetch our guests some tea?" She nodded and went on her way.

Silver and Jim waited in the study. The room was dark, but Jim could manage. Silver on the other hand constantly ran into the leg of the desk and hit "his" foot on it. "Yeh know... I really miss havin' an eye t'at can see in deh dark, yeh know wha' I mean?" Jim scoffed from the chair he had managed to find with the little piece of machinery that had replaced Silver's right line of vision. "Guess living longer isn't as good as it's cracked up to be." Jim received a rather distasteful glare from the man in the dark at the mention of "living longer".

He switched the hand piece to a blow torch. He adjusted the nozzle so it was on a low flame and lit an array of candles in front of him, turning it back to a hand after wards. Silver smiled wryly as he half limped to the vacant chair. "I see yeh've managed ta get a good feel o' deh machinery, eh?" Jim nodded. "You could say that. I might miss it, but not less than hiding in a ship all day and not being to walk into my own home without my mother shoving me out the door!" Silver huffed in dry amusement. "Aye..."

"I see you made yourselves at home!" Steel announced as he seemingly breezed in the doorway, a phantom I the light. The man's glasses reflected the candle light. His black hair was combed back into a sleek pony tail. "Oi! Silver, you remember me right?" He looked to the man who was _suppose_to be Jim. Silver shuddered. "Aye... I never liked yeh after wha' yeh did back in t'at operatin' room. Rumor has it yeh still are doin' experiments on people," he quipped, though his voice would've been a bit more intimidating if he was himself.

Steel had a shocked look. "Those rumors are just lies. The people who believed them ruined my career of an upstanding doctor!" Silver growled out, "T'en explain deh lack of pain killer durin' deh sur-" Steel silenced him with a glare. "We ran out," the notorious doctor commented with a sigh. Steel didn't realize how exasperated he was until he wiped sweat off his brow. Lousianne walked in with a tray of tea. He grasped a cup and sipped it. "Ah... thank you my sweet." She offered the tea to the others. They took it.

As she walked out, Jim noticed there wasn't anything in the cup. "Uh... doc.?" He motioned to the cup. Steel looked down and turned his head to Lousianne. "My dear... you forgot to put tea in the cups again." She chocked her head to the side. "I di? I sorrim," she said in a half spoken language. She took the cups from Silver and Jim and went back to the kitchen, only to bring them back with actual tea inside.

"There's a storm coming through tomorrow. If you wish, stay the night so when it does roll through, you'll be ready to turn back to yourselves." Jim nodded and got up from his chair. The Doctor showed them to their room, which had a set of twin beds. As he bid them good night he warned, "Oh... and be careful of Magic. She has a tendency to play with people."

Jim and Silver took it as a figure of speech. They didn't heed it until… "Gaaaah!" Jim jumped as the candle he wished to extinguish moved out of the way. Silver had a suspicious look. "I t'ink I've seen tha' kind of mischief before… But last I checked, Morphy was back at deh inn!" The candle turned into a small floating blob. It had a purple tint to it, unlike Morph's pink body. The way they could see was because Jim had managed to switch the hand piece of the arm to the blow torch. He had to admit, Silver was right. Those gears came in pretty handy from time to time!

"Magic," Jim questioned. The blob nodded. Silver got up from his bed. "Oi, Magee, do yeh remember me?" Magic chocked her head, and then she realized what he was getting at. She turned into Silver's normal form. Silver nodded "his" head. "A yep! T'at be me!"

Jim raised an eyebrow. "How does she know that _you're_really Silver, not I?" Silver looked at the blob, then back at Jim. "Le's jus' say she's a pet o' dis doctor I know...," he began. She flew up to Jim, examining what was really his friend's face. "An' Steel happened ta 'ave her there the day I got me arm an' leg replaced. I reckon she was dere when deh doc got his own body switched," Silver finished. By this time Jim was watching closely how she acted. She looked so similar to Morph, yet she acted more mature. "My room! My room," she shouted. Silver reached up and patted her. "Aye, but we be needin' some rest so yer gonna have ta share, Magee." Magic looked to Jim, then back at Silver. She seemed to shrug then she flew into the drawer in the nightstand upon opening it.

Silver climbed back into his bed and rolled over onto his left by force of habit. "'Night, Jim," he said before falling asleep. Jim nodded as he rolled onto his right upon lying down. He found soon that it wasn't exactly comfortable laying on the metallic limbs that has replaced Silver's real ones. He decided it would be best to lie on his back instead.

Jim awoke groggily. He reached up and began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He wondered if it had been a dream, being stuck in Silver's body. It was then he realized his right hand was still metal. He groaned irritably. As he began to sit up, he noticed Magic had taken advantage of their stay in _her_ room and had settled down to sleep on top of "his" stomach. Great, just great! As if it weren't bad enough that he had to put up with the mechanics that Silver had. Now he had to put up with a little shape shifter who found Silver's rather concerning weight an advantage to her comfort!

"Magic." No response from the purple blob. "Magic, wake up!" Still no response. "I'm sorry, Magic, but I have to get up..." No response again. She was harder to wake than Morph. "And _you_are going to have to_move_," He shouted as he half stumbled, half leaped out of bed. Magic went flying off of "his" stomach and onto the opposite wall. She floated off and let out a stream of disgruntled grumbles. As Jim was putting on the hat and Jacket, Silver finally came to.

He pushed "himself" off his own bed and stretched. "T'at musta' been the mos' comfortable sleep I've had in years," he yawned out. Jim grumbled, "Yeah, another drawback to being overweight and a pirate." Jim _still_felt tired. Honestly, if Silver didn't do something about his weight, he wouldn't even last another five years. Magic floated up to Silver, still disgruntled. "Annoying! Annoying," She chanted off into "Silver's" left ear. Silver quirked an eyebrow at the shape shifter. "Annoying? Who," he asked in wonder. She turned into a pointer finger and directed it at Jim. "Him," she said angrily.

Silver reached up and stroked the little blob as if he were petting Morph. "Don' mind Jimbo. He jus' had a rough bit o' rest." Jim scoffed. "Yeah, and a little purple protoplasm sleeping on your stomach doesn't help," Jim mumbled irritably. He heard Silver let out a chuckle, causing Jim to cast a curious glance. "Yeh get use ta it after a while. Morph did it all the time for a while there. Eventually, after throwing 'im off of me a couple of times, he figured it was a lot safer to sleep somewhere else." _He__must__be__getting__use__to__being__in__my__body,__since__he__'__s__not__using__the__jargon__he__always__uses__as__much._ Jim thought. _I__hope__he__doesn__'__t__get__too__attached__to__it._

Steel rapped on the door. "You two blokes ready for the day," he called from behind it. Jim cumbersomely walked up, the mechanics still getting in the way. He opened it so see a bright eyed, grinning Steel. "Yeah, we are. When do you think that storm will blow through?"Jim rubbed the sleep from "his" eyes still feeling a little tired. Steel glanced out the window from his spot at the door and looked at his watch. "I'd say in about… eh, three hours. I'll send Lousianne for you when the storm is about to roll through."

Suddenly the phone rang- wherever it was in that house of Steel's. Jim and Silver cast each other incredulous looks. Steel stiffened immediately. "Excuse me, gentlemen, I have to run and catch the phone before it stops ringing." He walked briskly down stairs, not wasting any time. Jim looked to Silver. "Y'know, Silver, despite the circumstances, it's actually good to see you again. Although, these gears feel a little rusty, and it's not just from being old." Silver let out a nervous chuckle and replied, "Aye. Le's jus' say I haven't been taking care of them like I usually do!" They both laughed at this.

"James Hawkins! You've got a call!" Jim stiffened suddenly. "Crimeny! That's probably my mom, wondering what's going on!" Silver grumbled, "Goodie… I'll bet yeh five gold pieces tha' she don' know yer in an ol' sailor's body righ' now." He found that Magic and Jim were both looking at him. "Wha'? Watcha starin'- Oh, I get it." He walked to the door. "Well, better get this over with," Jim sighed and followed suit.

They reached the foyer of the house. Silver stood with a phone to "his" left ear. "Yeah, alright, I get it! Yes, I'm sure that I'm really Jim. What?" Jim watched quietly as he continued to negotiate with his mother. As if conceding defeat he handed the phone to Jim. "Hello?" He heard a sigh. "So, you were turned into a pirate, hmm? Captain Amelia told me what happened," Sarah admitted over the phone.

He let out a breath of relief. _At__least__she__knows..._"Mom, I promise you, I'll be back in my own body before you know it." Now he only hoped he could keep his promise. "And if you can't," she prodded. This was the part he hated most: the fear of never going back to _being_James Pleiades Hawkins. "I... I can't say. I don't know what the circumstances would be." He felt like he was holding back tears. He used pain as an avenue to block out the sadness by digging in the nails into the palm of what was his friend's organic hand. "I'll try... goodbye, Mom." He hung up the phone hastily before his mom could say anything further.

A sudden rumble was heard just as he realized Silver was rubbing "his" left hand. "Yeh, know, I felt that pain yeh caused during that call." Jim blinked and looked at the organic hand, noticing four small cuts in the palm. That was rather… peculiar, Steel looked to the window and gasped, "Dear heavens... Gents, follow me, the storm is ahead of schedule." They followed suit as Steel rushed to the back door of his house.

They found themselves braving harrowing winds while crossing a mildew covered landscape towards an old shed. The door was slammed behind them and the lights were cut on to reveal two medical beds with steal restraints hinged on right below a machine with helmets of some sort with straps.

"Now, climb on, both of you." Jim and Silver both exchanged wary glances before doing what Steel said- Jim in the right medical bed, Silver in the left. Steel lowered the restraints down and placed a padlock on both.

A knock was heard at the door. Steel opened it to reveal Lousianne holding desperately onto an umbrella. "Oh my... Come in, dear. I may need your help with the machine." Both Jim and Silver exchanged scared glances. _As__if__Steel__helping__us__out__of__our__situation__weren't__bad__enough!_ They both seemed to think. Steel caught the looks and explained, "No need to fear. Lousianne is bright enough to work a hand crank." He turned to her. "Aren't you?" She nodded happily.

As if to comfort them, Magic appeared and cheered, "Good luck! Good luck!" Jim sighed. "Good luck indeed..." Steel looked to Magic and signaled her to move out of the way and then turned his gaze to Lousianne. "If you please, my sweet." She nodded and began to work the hand crank diligently.

A metal cylinder creaked out of the side of the shed. Soon, Steel was working a hand crank too and part of the roof opened up to reveal a rainy sky. Steal reached out to a hand crank in the beam that had extended from the shack. The pole extended up until it seemed to reach the sky. Steel walked over and lowered the helmets on both of his patients' heads. He stood back in a dark corner as soon as he was done.

Jim looked to Silver and Silver looked to Jim. "If I don't make it through," Jim began. He heard Silver chuckle nervously. "'Don't make it through'? Yeh've done scarier things!" Jim chuckled at the encouragement, but nervously still. "You're right. Take care, Silver," Jim replied. Before anymore words could be said there was a surge of white light. There was searing pain and the feeling of the whole body burning, then there was nothing. At least, it seemed like nothing.

_Where__am__I...?_Garbled voices floated aimlessly through space. "...Miracle he survived... A hero... Spare... _him_...?" The sound of a female human crying reached unconscious ears. _Mom...?_"... been killed...! …Miracle..." He opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the light. He saw bandages on his... arms. He liked the sound of it being _his_arms. He looked down at the sterile white sheets covering him. He was in a hospital. He glanced around, no one in sight. He scoffed. Lucky boy, he was. He flexed his fingers. Yep, he was back. Jim Hawkins was back.

Glancing around a second time he noticed he wasn't the only one in the room. He couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed an old cyborg lying on his left side, sawing logs. He rubbed his right arm in nostalgia. Yep, good to be back.

His mother entered the room. Her face lit up immediately upon seeing her son fully awake. "Jim!" She ran towards him with a bouquet of flowers and a get well card in hand. Jim soon found himself in a rather pleasant hug. "I missed you, Mom." He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. "You had me worried," she whimpered. He grinned. It really felt good to be back.


End file.
